Thursday, April 8, 2010

Supply and Demand

I read an interesting post on the NiceGuy forum the other day about a member's trip to the Ukraine. He said there were beautiful women everywhere, just walking down the street, and that they happily smile and make eye contact and talk to any well dressed stranger. The reason being that the country is a mess, many men are unemployed and alcoholic and in fact enough men in the 40-50 year old age group have died due to suicide, booze, drugs, poor food etc for there to be a perceived lack of men.

So women fell it is really hard to find a good man. They are open to any chance to meet a man who looks stable. The local men treat them like shit and they just take it because beggars can't be choosers.

The Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe. Average income is $3000 per person, compared to $45,000 per person in the USA. It had along history of being on the loosing end of wars and famines, especially during the 20th century. A lot of people live on bread and potatoes and cabbage, there is real poverty and suffering there.

So the women have really low expectations. They are humble, basically. Whereas western women have learnt that they can treat men like shit and get away with it, women in the Ukraine know that they have to look good, act nice, cook a decent meal and take an interest in their mans' hobbies, else he will just dump them for someone else.And for some reason women in Eastern Europe are often quite beautiful when they are young. So the competition for the good men is intense.

In other words, the supply and demand situation is the exact opposite of that in the USA or UK. The women are jumping through hoops to find one of the rare good men.

It got me thinking.

I reckon it's all about the number of successful men vs the number of hot women. The women are competing for a man who will give them a good life. We think of men competing for women, but in nature it is always the female who chooses the male. the male displays, he offers his services, but the woman sits back, waits for a good offer, then chooses.

The woman is buying a service from the man. Material support, help in raising a family. The man is selling the service. Women offer looks, sex, charm, and the promise of children. Plus pleasant companionship, the ability to cook etc. It's a trade.

In a country where there a lots of men who can be good providers, it's a buyers market. So women can get a husband cheap - they don't have to offer much in return and can drive a hard bargain.

In a country where there are very few men who are good providers, it's a sellers market. Women have to offer a lot in return to snare a good man.

So as a country becomes better organized, cleaner, safer, more prosperous, the power in the bargain shifts to women, because they have so many good providers to choose from. They can offer less in return , and demand more. Or hold out for a better deal as they get older.

Thus we would expect women in the world's most prosperous countries - USA, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, the UK etc to offer the LEAST to men, because they have the best bargaining position.

And sure enough, these are the most hostile, argumentative and overweight women in the world.

As we go down the scale to countries which are poorer but still OK places to live, we would fine the women more agreeable, a more even bargaining position, a recognition amongst the women that they have to offer a man something in return.

For example, France, Germany,Italy would be in this category. And sure enough we find the women are a bit nicer, the laws not quite so harsh to men, the women are liberated but they never got into the whole man hating thing.

If we drop down to the next level, where people earn $10-15K per year, we get countries like Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic. Here the bargaining position has shifted slightly in favor of the men. There are a reasonable number of men who make good providers, but economic opportunities are limited and consumer culture does not dominate. There is an expectation that men will be men, and women will be feminine. Women know they need to make an effort to get a good man, but they do have options.

Funnily enough, this group actually has the hottest women in the world. They don't have enough money to buy junk food, but they do have enough money to eat properly. So they are offering a lot more than a western woman, but have lower expectations.

Down the bottom we have the countries where real poverty prevails, nothing much works, everyone struggles to survive. A western man is like a king here. But the crime, the disease, the scammers and the poverty takes the fun out of it. Women might treat you like a rock star, but if they've spent their life working 12 hours days and living on beans and rice you may find them a bit worse for wear, not to mention lousy conversationalists.

If I was to go to Thailand, the Ukraine or the Philippines I'd only be interested in the middle class girls, not some malnourished peasant with a life that made me want to weep.

So...back to the USA.

I think in large part women in the west act the way they do simply because they can get away with it. The standard of acceptable behavior has sunk lower and lower over the last 50 years simply because they had the bargaining power and no one called them on their shit. They could getter ruder, men still called. They could gain weight, men still called. They abandoned any attempt to learn how to cook or care for a home. Men still called. They abandoned any interest in things men might want to discuss - like sports, or science, or history, and just read gossip columns. Men still called.

Meanwhile, over in Poland or Hungary, the local beauties are competing for the 5 remaining men who actually have career prospects. They are watching their figures, they are reading history so they can make interesting conversation, they are practicing their cooking skills. They have to, because Nadia, who lives down the street, and is only slightly less gorgeous than them, is doing those things and is a real hit with the boys.There are so few good men to go round!

A lot of men are invisible here, simply because women are holding out for some one better and they don't make the cut-off.But go to a country with a lower cut-off and you might get every girls attention when you walk in the room.

It works the other way around too. If an AW goes to the Czech Republic, suddenly they are invisible.

Of course all this can change over time. Given 50 years of prosperity, women in Hungary might blimp up and become obnoxious donut addicts and binge drinkers. Given 50 years of hard times, women in the USA might start talking about humility as a virtue.